Midfielder rises through wreckage of Football Ferns’ February losses
THERE was not a lot to like about the Football Ferns performances over the past fortnight, as they lost 5-0 to Portugal and 2-0 and 1-0 to Argentina.
But one bright spot was the midfield efforts of Malia Steinmetz, who had three strong outings to push her case in a position where starting roles at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in July are well and truly up for grabs.
It has been just over five years since Steinmetz made her Ferns debut, off the bench in a 5-1 win over Thailand in 2017 and just over four years since she made her first start, in a 6-0 win over the Cook Islands.
That match, her third for the Ferns, came shortly after she captained New Zealand at the 2018 Under-20 Women’s World Cup in France, but it ended with a hospital visit, after she was forced from the field in New Caledonia with heat stroke.
From there, it took more than three years for her to make it back to the national team. She seized an opportunity at Perth Glory for the 2020-21 A-League Women season, then moved to Western Sydney Wanderers, where she has played for the last two seasons and become a regular starter.
Having once been so nervous ahead of Ferns matches that she would literally shake, Steinmetz had a breakthrough performance last February playing at the base of a midfield trio in a 0-0 draw with Czechia, but had to wait four matches before coach Jitka Klimkova´ handed her another start.
The 24-year-old Aucklander has now started five of the last six Ferns matches she has been available for – not counting the losses to the United States in January which clashed with club commitments – and is starting to show she has the right mix of attributes to be an asset in midfield.
She is comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces and has a good sense of where to find space and where the next pass should go in order to get her team moving forward – as well as having the tenacity to close opponents down and win the ball back when the Ferns are out of possession.
Speaking after Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Argentina at North Harbour Stadium in her hometown, where she made her 16th appearance for the Ferns, Steinmetz said the past fortnight had ‘‘definitely been big’’ for her on a personal level as a fledgling international footballer.
‘‘I try my hardest not to think too much about it – I’m just playing the game I love and I’m lucky and fortunate to be here and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
‘‘It’s honestly been fun, as rough and tough as it has been and how hard these outcomes have been, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’’
Asked about Steinmetz’s rise during the international window, Klimkova´ said she was a player who was ‘‘growing so quickly’’.
‘‘She’s a very technical player that reads the game well and finds those pockets that she can get the ball in.
‘‘We are working on with her playing forward more. She keeps the ball well – she needs to now really look forward more for those penetrative passes.’’
It’s something Steinmetz has been focusing on – to the point where she ‘‘got so hell-bent on doing that, I forgot everything else about football’’.
That mindset explains some of her blemishes across the Ferns last three matches, but on the whole her performances against Portugal and Argentina were more encouraging than the vast majority of her team-mates.
Steinmetz took surprise 55thmin substitution on the chin and was already looking forward to the final five weeks of A-League W, which take place between now and the next international window at the start of April.
She said the message from Klimkova´ in the Ferns post-match huddle had been clear: ‘‘It’s all on us in terms of going back to our clubs and making sure we improve individually.’’
‘As rough and tough as it has been and how hard these outcomes have been . . . I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’ MALIA STEINMETZ